Bedmates Soulmates
CHAPTER 137

But the other half of the bed might be occupied by a man-sized Oscar the Grouch. "Time to turn in, Young Madam. Elsie stood up from the sofa and stretched.

"Oh, but we have so much more catching-up to do.' Kira tugged at Elsie's shirt.

"We do?' the housekeeper rubbed at her bleary eyes.

"Yes, of course! Come, sit. Let's talk, Elsie."

'About what? I already told you everything that happened to me in the past week, including what I had for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night snacks.

"Um, let's talk about something else then.'

'Fine.' Elsie gave a weary sigh like she was dealing with her four-year-old nephew. 'What if I tell you more about Young Master?"

'Okay, sure.' Kira would listen to anything, other than a ghost story, to delay going upstairs.

The housekeeper sat cross-legged on the sofa. 'Young Master has always been fiercely independent. He enrolled at a military academy at the age of eighteen, without any help from the family. He lived at the dormitory, trained hard with the other cadets, and never once made use of his connections. None of the instructors and cadets knew he was the McCarthy heir till he graduated.'

Kira nodded, recalling the man's strong arms and hard abs.

Austyn might have character flaws, but his body was perfect.

Clad in his fancy, bespoke suit, he moved with the easy grace of a leopard, ready to pounce into action at any second. "Young Master's quite handsome, eh?' Elsie said, nudging Kira who was lost in thought.

Kira offered a polite smile but no comment.

"Girls have been throwing themselves at him for as long as I can remember,' Elsie continued. 'But Young Master has little experience in relationships. He doesn't like to waste his time with one-night stands and casual flings, unlike other young men from similar backgrounds."

Kira thought of Doctor Chase.

She wondered absent-mindedly if the doctor went home with all three hostesses tonight.

She scrunched up her nose.

"What? You don't believe me?' Elsie noticed Kira's reaction. 'I'm telling you the truth."

"Elsie, you may honestly believe in what you're saying,' Kira said with a sigh, 'but that doesn't make it true.'

Like believing in the Loch Ness monster.

'But it is the truth,' Elsie insisted. 'Young Master is a devoted partner and a faithful husband."

The word 'faithful' stung.

Kira took a long breath. 'Elsie, I hate to break it to you, but your Young Master is not faithful-she raised a hand to pre-empt the housekeeper's objection- 'When I called him the other night, a woman answered his phone.' Kira still remembered the woman's breathy voice.

Austyn said nothing happened between him and that woman.

-

Back then, Kira had been too preoccupied the shameless man insisted on doing it with her in the hospital bathroom

-to process what he said..

But when she had the time to reflect later, she decided that his words couldn't be trusted.

He had a history, after all.

He was involved with the actress Kayleigh in Stamford.

Maybe that woman on the phone was his shag pal in Farindon.

Frankly, after seeing the way Doctor Chase behaved around women, as if he was living in an episode of "Californication,

Kira wouldn't put it past Austyn to have one regular sex partner in each city he travelled to.

Elsie might be too blinkered by her memories of an adolescent Austyn to realise that her Young Master had grown into a man, and that he'd changed.

Words like 'devoted' and 'faithful' might apply to him in the past, but not now.

Elsie, as expected, refused to believe Kira. 'I know Young Master. He's not the kind of person to sleep around. There must be a misunderstanding

Kira stated simply, 'I heard it with my own cars. Too bad I didn't have my recording app on, or I could've replayed the call for you."

"Maybe the woman was just his friend,'

"The only type of friend who stays in the room of someone from the opposite sex in the middle of the night is friends. with benefits, Kira said matter-of-factly. Hand Over The Cheque

The housekeeper didn't know what to say to that.

Kira's logic was unassailable.

Elsie could only sigh.

In her heart, she agreed that Young Master had been in the wrong, but stating it out loud was only going to make Young Madam angrier with him.

When the hour hand of the clock moved to eleven, Kira shut off the TV and stood up.

Elsie had abandoned her half an hour ago.

Kira entertained herself with channel surfing-

She had to skip the drama channel when she saw Kayleigh's perfectly made-up face onscreen.

Having exhausted all options to delay the inevitable, Kira squared her shoulders and went upstairs.

Austyn was not in the bedroom.

She heaved a sigh of relief.

Maybe he decided to resume the silent treatment and had gone to sleep in the study.

Which suited her just fine.

Keeping an eye on the bedroom door, Kira removed her cardboard box from under the bed.

She updated her diary and then counted the hoard of cash.

When she got her first paycheque next week, the hoard would, hopefully, double in size.

Kira dug out her copy of 'Gender In Communication' and started reading.

As she turned each page, she glanced up at the door, which remained shut.

When she finished the chapter on intersectionality theory, there was still no sound or movement from outside.

Was he sleeping in the study, or working?

Kira pitied the full-time employees of the M Group.

With a workaholic for a president, she could only imagine the amount of whip-cracking they got at work.

When midnight came and went, Kira tossed aside the book and stomped towards the door.

Was he still mad at her or not?

Like a condemned prisoner who was kept in the dark about the date of her execution, the suspense was killing her.

She could take the punishment, whatever it was, but she couldn't bear the not knowing.

Kira knocked loudly on the door of the study and didn't wait for a 'come in' before she pushed it open.

The surface of the huge desk was covered with papers.

But there was no one in the chair.

Kira scanned the room and found Austyn lying on the sofa.

He had one hand draped over liis forehead, the other placed over his stomach.

The sofa was too short for his 186-cm frame.

He had to draw up his knees.